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8.8" swap underway - shock mount question

emr1101

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Raleigh, NC
hey everyone, me and whitneyJ are working on my 8.8 swap right now. I ordered the ruff stuff specialties kit to put the 8.8 in to replace my 8.25. Anyway we arent sure about how the shock mounts are supposed to go, it came with them but they dont make a whole lot of sense. I reasearched and on YJs (Spring under axle) it was welded to the spring plate, and some other guys just reused the old shock mounts - so how do i put these on? Im assuming im not supposed to reuse the old shock mounts if it came with new ones. Any help would be appreciated.

-Eric
 
Well before you figure out "who's" mount to use,you need to know where your shock needs to be located!
 
Yeah i was going to just mount them in the same location as before, because i am getting new shocks soon and wont really be beating it offroad untill then. I am just curious where ruff stuff intends them to be mounted, because i dont really understand how these things are supposed to go, and there are no pics of it on their site.
 
Again,you need to know where your shocks need to be mounted "before" you choose a mount.Your kit came with one of these.I chose to modify a set of the MORE's for mine.
Axle%20Side%20Shock%20Bracket.jpg

shock-tabb.jpg

These are from JKS.
p_ogs922.jpg

These are from MORE.
Shock03.jpg
 
When I put the 8.8 in my MJ I used the Ruff Stuff kit. I had to do a little grinding but I got them to where I wanted them. I like it a lot because there is nothing down there to get hung on:
build078.jpg

build077.jpg

build080.jpg
 
When I put the 8.8 in my MJ I used the Ruff Stuff kit. I had to do a little grinding but I got them to where I wanted them. I like it a lot because there is nothing down there to get hung on:
build078.jpg

build077.jpg

build080.jpg

how did you mount your shocks up top? just noticed they are both on the back of the axle
 
he also mentioned it at the beginning of his post...

i do see he kept the rear mj prop valve, i wonder if he got the lengths figured out to get it working... i just cut it out....
and... is that a ryobi? psssh! craftsman, or dewalt if you have the coin!
 
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On the ruff stuff kit, you install them like bryans87mj, you just put the one on the front.

Assuming you already have shocks, you can tweak it for the best performance. Just go flex it out, with bumpstops and no shocks. Measure the compressed side, and mount the shock at the height it will give you the most travel. Allow about 1/2"-1" extra for initial bumpstop compression. If that measurement puts it higher than the center of the axle tube, you may want to get new shocks if you want the most travel. You can measure the drooped side, and compare it to the extended shock measurements, to see if you would benefit from this.

=
i do see he kept the rear mj prop valve, i wonder if he got the lengths figured out to get it working... i just cut it out....

Not to hijack, but I was debating on extending the connecting rod to make this functional myself. I just tied it up in it's normal position for now.

bryans87mj, did you keep it in for a reason? How does it work with the disks? I plan on doing an 8.8 swap in my MJ in the near future, so it would be nice to know... if I decide to keep it.

I do use the truck to haul stuff, so it might be nice to have. But on the other hand, I have hauled a 1000+ lb load of firewood without any problems, so it will likely go away for simplicity's sake.
 
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We ended up welding on the 8.25 ones, which was fine but now the 8.25 wont be as easily sellable. The shocks are on the side and offer pretty good up and down extension, like 4-5" each
 
The RuffStuff brackets weld on exactly like the JKS brackets, except they are double shear instead of single shear. The curved part gets welded to the axle tube, and is designed so the shock mount doesn't stick way down below the axle and get beat up by rocks. Instead of a mounting bolt sticking out of one hole like on the JKS bracket, the shock eye goes between the two mounting tabs on the RS bracket and the bolt goes through it all. Bolt designs have the bolt that holds the shock perpendicular to the axle tube.
 
We ended up welding on the 8.25 ones, which was fine but now the 8.25 wont be as easily sellable. The shocks are on the side and offer pretty good up and down extension, like 4-5" each
So you really didnt spend the time to do it correctly!
It doesnt matter what mount you use as long as you put it in the correct spot!
 
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Who are you to tell him that we didn't do it correctly? you haven't even seen how the shock mounts were installed on the axle! you seem very quick to criticize and pass judgment when you don't even know what was done! who cares if we didn't use the ruffstuff brackets? is it your axle? is it your rig? were you in anyway there to help come up with a solution? No! and until you see a picture of how we went about it, you should hold your tongue!
 
So you really didnt spend the time to do it correctly!
It doesnt matter what mount you use as long as you put it in the correct spot!

We did do it correctly, the 8.25 brackets are as thick as the ruff stuff ones, now we have extra shock brackets. There was nothing incorrect about what we (me and whitneyj did it if you havent figured that out) did, just because it wasn't the intended way by ruff stuff. A lot of guys just reweld the old ones on. Ive seen some YJ swaps with the ruff stuff kit for the 8.8 and they crudley welded the shock mount to the spring pad, of all places.

Who are you to tell him that we didn't do it correctly? you haven't even seen how the shock mounts were installed on the axle! you seem very quick to criticize and pass judgment when you don't even know what was done! who cares if we didn't use the ruffstuff brackets? is it your axle? is it your rig? were you in anyway there to help come up with a solution? No! and until you see a picture of how we went about it, you should hold your tongue!

Agreed, the axle swap went very smooth and it is performing very well, and like I said we have about as much up travel as down, so the shocks are nice and centered - yet at the same time they are up and out of the way of rocks
 
so why the picture of the front of the jeep. If you are showing off the work toss up the back.

note: I am not calling you out on technique or ability, just that you posted the front axle not the back.
 
The shock mounts should be just fine, that's basically what I did on my XJ.

Now you just need to ditch those blocks :nono:
 
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